Games to watch: Top Stanislaus District high school football matchups for Week 6
The league season is here. These games are what matter.
While the preseason provides a lot of great matchups, the meaningful games come during league play. Teams know each other’s players, strengths and weaknesses and gameplan accordingly.
As some teams kick off regular season play and others continue, here are the Week 6 games to watch:
Weston Ranch (1-4, 0-1) at Central Catholic (3-1, 0-0) at Central Catholic High School, 7 p.m.
One of the biggest keys for Central Catholic heading into league play will be health. Julian Lopez’s injury from the St. Mary’s game will potentially keep him out this week as well. The Raiders running game has been fine. Aiden Taylor has carried the ground game and had 129 yards and two touchdowns in the loss at Bellarmine.
The Raiders, which fell to 10th in MaxPreps’ Sac-Joaquin Section rankings, have to move forward quickly. The Valley Oak League isn’t easy and it starts with Weston Ranch. The team is 1-4, and should be a good bounce-back game. A win to open league play is important.
Central Catholic knows it can’t just look past this game – with fifth-ranked Oakdale (4-0), 14th-ranked Kimball (4-0) and sixth-ranked Manteca (5-0) in the weeks to follow. The team went back to tightening up the fundamentals after last week’s loss to Bellarmine.
.
Le Grand (2-2, 0-1) at Waterford (4-0, 1-0) at Waterford High School, 7:15 p.m.
Five Stanislaus District teams remain undefeated and Waterford will put its four-game win streak on the line against Le Grand. The Wildcats are undefeated at home and have won eight straight games dating back to the spring.
This year’s 4-0 record is the program’s best start in more than 10 years.
The Wildcats run a balanced offensive attack. The team has 769 yards and nine touchdowns through the air. On the ground, they have amassed 860 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Oakdale (4-0, 1-0) at Kimball (4-0, 1-0) at Kimball High School, 7 p.m.
Two of the three undefeated teams in the Valley Oak League clash in Tracy on Friday. The other undefeated team, Manteca, has a bye this week. This game will have a big say in who wins the league, giving the winner a huge advantage.
Oakdale is coming off a blowout win against East Union where postgame, coach Trent Merzon spoke at length about what the importance of playing Kimball, calling their offense “dynamite”.
The matchup will feature a contrast of playing styles. While Oakdale can air the ball out, they consistently move the ball on the ground. Meanwhile, Kimball quarterback Nicholas Coronado sits at 15th in the nation according to MaxPreps with 1,565 passing yards and 18 touchdowns.
In a 54-6 victory over Weston Ranch last week, he threw for 343 yards and five touchdowns.
Hilmar (5-0, 1-0) at Ripon (3-2, 1-0) at Ripon High School, 7 p.m.
Out of all the Stanislaus District’s undefeated teams, Hilmar’s five wins are the most this season.
Cameron Moak leads the passing portion of the Yellowjackets’ offense with 835 yards and 12 touchdowns. The running game is led by Luis Vargas’ 300 yards and three touchdowns and Broc Perry’s 222 yards and two touchdowns.
Last week, Ripon opened Trans-Valley League play with a 56-12 win over Modesto Christian while Hilmar rallied to beat Livingston, 28-24.
Davis (4-0, 1-0) at Los Banos (1-3, 1-0) at Loftin Stadium, 7 p.m.
Davis head coach Tim Garcia got some good news this week. Senior quarterback and Beyer transfer Jayson Munthe became eligible after having to sit out the required 30 days since joining the team..
Garcia has a decision to make as his team is undefeated and seems to have taken the offense to a different level after last week’s 43-7 win over Mountain House.
Davis’ defense has been a big key to its success, allowing 34 points this season.
Los Banos’ only win came against winless Beyer.
Hughson (4-1, 0-1) at Livingston (3-2,0-1) at Livingston High School, 7 p.m.
Both teams had successful preseasons, but dropped their league openers – Hughson, 21-13, to Escalon, and Livingston, 28-24, to Hilmar.
The two teams have split their previous two matchups.
Hughson’s offense relies heavily on senior running back Will Nutcher’s 483 rushing yards and nine touchdowns.
Livingston’s defense allows fewer than 14 points a game and Hughson less than 10.
Lincoln (Stockton) (2-1, 0-0) at Downey (3-1, 0-0) at Downey High School, 7:15 p.m.
After a tough loss to open the season, Downey has rattled off three straight wins, including most recently blowing out Buhach Colony, 41-21. Lincoln also played the Thunder, beating them 50-0.
The Knights will have their hands full with the Lincoln ground game led by Jonah Coleman, a three star running back committed to Arizona, according to 247 Sports.
Downey head Coach Jeremy Plaa knows that the team they host on Friday will be athletic, but he sees this game as a great final tun up before they start Central California Athletic League play.
The Knights kick off league next week against Modesto High.
Merced (3-2, 1-0) at Patterson (3-2, 1-0) at Patterson High School, 7 p.m.
Two teams with identical records usually make a good game. This matchup between Merced and Patterson pit two teams who are likely to vie for the Central California Conference title.
After losing its first two games to Hilmar and Manteca, Patterson looks to extend its win streak to four games.
The Tigers have relied heavily on their run game. Junior duo Sean Hansen and Lolo Mataele have combined for 716 of the team’s 1,105 rushing yards and nine of the 15 touchdowns.
Merced’s duo of Seth Scheidt and Evahn Perez have torched defenses. The two connected for 67 yards and two touchdowns in a 40-6 win against Atwater.
Orestimba (2-2,0-1) at Ripon Christian (3-1, 0-0) at Ripon Christian High School, 7:15 p.m.
Ripon Christian has been a mainstay in the Division VI and VII section playoffs. Though it will not be eligible this season – pending its appeal with the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs – it’s still trying to defend its 2019 first place Southern League crown.
Ripon Christian is averaging 32 points per game while Orestimba put up 12.
The Knights’ run-first offense is led by the quartet of Ethan McGovern, Trey Fasani, Micah De Jong and Grant Sonke who each have totaled over 100 yards.
Orestimba lost a nail-biter to Le Grand last week after its game-winning 30-yard field goal attempt was blocked in the final seconds.
Orestimba’s key to the game will be defense, as its offense has just 922 total yards.
Lodi (3-1, 0-0) at Gregori (2-2, 0-0) at Gregori High School, 7:30 p.m.
Gregori has one more tuneup before it dives into CCAL play next week against undefeated Enochs.
The Jaguars are coming off a bye week that coach Lamar Wallace says was productive as they used it to get players extra recovery and work in the classroom.
Now, all the attention faces forward to Lodi.
Gregori is led by 5-foot-10, do-it-all quarterback Cruz Marines, who has 634 yards and six passing touchdowns and 260 yards and four rushing touchdowns.
Lodi has an athletic quarterback of its own in Adam Schallberger, who Wallace says the defense will need to contain if the Jaguars want to come out with a victory.
This story was originally published September 23, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
